Wojciech Knap obtained his master’s and PhD degrees from the Faculty of Physics – University of Warsaw Poland. His PhD concerned the Terahertz (Far infrared) properties of narrow gap semiconductors HgTe and InSb. After his PhD degree (1985) he obtained the position of permanent assistant professor at the University of Warsaw in the Department of Solid-State Physics. In 1987 he moved to France to work as an assistant professor at the University of Montpellier, Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Toulouse Pulsed High Magnetic Field Laboratory. In 1992 he obtained a permanent position at the French National Centre for Scientific Research – CNRS – Montpellier. He worked as a visiting researcher at the USA–Japan Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY, and Tohoku University Sendai Japan. His main scientific interests and activities are concentrated around far-infrared (Terahertz) properties of semiconductors and, in particular, around basic physics and applications of Terahertz plasma excitations in nanostructures. He is currently the Leader of the International Research Project CENTERA and together with Prof. T Skotnicki he is leading THz research and development activities within the project.

Maxim Ryzhii received the MS degree in quantum electronics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia, in 1992 and the Doctor of Engineering degree in physical electronics from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, in 2001. Since 1993, he has been with the University of Aizu, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan, where he is currently an Associate Professor with the Complex System Modeling Laboratory. His research activity includes physics and computer modeling of optoelectronic and terahertz nanostructure devices, and computational modeling of biophysical systems. He is the author or co-author of more than 120 journal publications and numerous conference papers. Dr Ryzhii is a senior member of the IEEE and a member of the American Physical Society.

Michael S Shur received the MS degree (with Honors) in electrical engineering from St. Petersburg Electrotechnical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia, and the PhD and Doctor of Sciences degrees from A F Ioffe Institute, St. Petersburg. He is the Roberts Professor with the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA, where he is also the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center. He is a co-founder and the Vice President of Sensor Electronics Technology, Inc. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of High-Speed Electronics and Systems, a Regional Editor for the Physica Status Solidi, a member of the Honorary Board of Solid State Electronics, and a member of the International Advisory Committee of the Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science, and a former Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices. Dr Shur is a Life Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Electrochemical Society, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Materials Research Society, World Innovation Foundation, American Association for Advancement of Sciences, and a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and the American Society for Engineering Education. He is a Foreign Member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.